Where You'll Find Me
by LuvDramaMsc
Summary: Chap 4 is up! Lorelai Gilmore is 24, raising an 8-year-old Rory. Life can be a funny thing. Please R&R!
1. The Coffee Chronicles

"Mom! I'm gonna be late!" Rory Gilmore yelled up the iron stairs. She anxiously checked her watch. At that moment, a tousle-haired Lorelai appeared from their apartment, slid down the banister, and landed at her 8-year old daughter's feet. Rory gave her an impatient look.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Wardrobe malfunction. Lets go." Her brown hair was messily put up into a ponytail and her blue business suit was crumpled. There were circles under her eyes and Rory guessed she hadn't slept well.

"It's okay, mom. Go get a brush." Lorelai pecked her daughter on the cheek and hurried up the stairs once again. Two minutes later, they jumped into the old red chevy parked outside.

"Don't worry, we'll make it." Oh man. Rory knew what that meant. Her mom had that determined gleam in her eyes. Lorelai pressed the gas and soon, they were zooming down the streets of Stars Hollow on their way to Stars Hollow Elementary.

The car's brakes screeched to a halt in front of the brick building. Hundreds of kids were making their way to their classrooms. Rory smiled.

"Wow, you're good mom."

"That's what they tell me." They burst out laughing.

"Do you...he...have any idea what we're...he...laughing so hard about?" Lorelai managed to say.

"No...he...clue." Once they both had regained their composure, Rory got out of the car and swung her backpack onto her shoulders.

"Lator gator!" Lorelai called after her daughter. Rory turned around.

"In a while crocodile!"

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Lorelai walked into Luke's Diner, slouched onto the nearest chair, and laid her head on the table. It had been another long night and already that empty, achy feeling was starting at her temples.

"Are you okay?" Lorelai groggily looked up into the concerned face of Luke. His usual unshaven beard and baseball cap were a comforting sight.

"Luke, must have coffee." Lorelai grunted before plopping her head back down on the wood table with a thunk. That didn't make her head feel any better.

"On second thought, bring some Advil too will ya?" Luke sat down in the chair opposite Lorelai.

"Lorelai, I see you in here every day and you're always like this." Lorelai's mind suddenly flashed back to the first time she'd met Luke. It was hard to believe that there had ever been a time when she hadn't known him. He was just...Luke, her friend with the diner on the corner. She remembered that she had just dropped off Rory at the local daycare center and was heading to work when she was suddenly hit was a major energy dive. She spotted the big sign that said, "Luke's Diner" and walked into the crowded place. That was when she first saw the dude in plaid. He was young, just starting in the restaurant business. She sat down at the counter and asked him for a cup of coffee.

"It'll be a second. There's other people in line." He said without looking up from his ordering pad. Lorelai gave him her aren't-I-adorable-show-some-pity-I'm-having-withdrawls look she tended to give people from time to time. He looked at her and froze. Lorelai raised one eyebrow.

"Hello? Are you okay?" He shook his head and cleared his throat.

"I'm Luke." He put out his hand to shake hers. She did.

"Hey Luke, come back down to earth, there's people waitin' on ya." Lorelai's friend, Mrs. Patty, complained loudly.

"Lorelai here. You better get back to work or else they'll eat you for lunch." Luke grinned, tore his eyes away for her, and went back to taking orders. Lorelai frowned.

"But wait! I need coffee!" He laughed and told her to wait her turn.

"What's your birthday?"

"What?"

"Date of birth. What is it?"

"Uh, November 5th. Now, will you please leave me alone?" Lorelai tore out a horoscope from a newspaper, scribbled something on it with a pen, and handed it to him. On top of the printed horoscope, she had written in untidy handwriting:

**You will meet an annoying woman today and you will give her coffee.**

He had just finished with Mrs. Patty.

"Coming right up."

"Lorelai?" Lorelai snapped back to the present. Luke was still there.

"W-what?" She said. Luke half-sighed, half-snorted.

"That's it, you need to get more sleep." Lorelai forced a smile and lifted her head.

"I'm fine. I get plenty of sleep. You know me, I'm like the energizer bunny. I'm just not a real morning person."

"Yeah, sure you're not."

"Luke, leave me alone." She immediately regretted saying this. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

"It's okay. I'll get your coffee."

"Advil too please?"

"Coming right up."

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"Hey Lane!" Rory called to her best friend.

"Yo. What's up?"

"I found out they're holding a spelling bee." She said excitedly. Rory Gilmore was somewhat of a geek. She had really stupid hobbies like being intelligent and reading. These alone were enough to label her as "different" from the rest of her classmates.

"Cool. Are you gonna do it?"

"Yeah, I think so..." Rory's voice trailed off. Lane knew what was going on inside her head.

"You're scared to be in front of the whole school." Rory sighed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, I've known you forever and day. I'd be surprised if we weren't carried to our cribs by the same stork." Rory laughed. She could just imagine it, although she didn't exactly believe in the STS (Stork Transport System).

"Hey, you know the indestructible black box? Have you ever wondered why they don't just make the whole plane out of it?" Lane pondered.

"One of life's unanswerable questions. Like, how long does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-pop? The world may never know." And, in this way, they linked arms and monkey-danced their way to class.

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Lorelai, in a much better mood now that she was under the influence of caffeine, strolled in the inn and greeted Michel at the front desk.

"I need a raise." He replied in his drawling French accent.

"So, how was your day?"

"The insufferable, idiotic people I have to talk to..."

"I'm fine, thanks. A bit bummed that the world's about to end...but what can ya do?"

"...my strength was never in verbal communication..."

"Michel, get a grip. There are 20 other people who work here remember?"

"That's true. What's your point?"

"My point is that there are 20 other people who work here that'll go insane by the end of the week from your complaining."

"So, do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"Don't play the small-talk move with me buster." She wiggled her finger at him and walked into the kitchen. She was met with a series of high-pitched squeals. A round woman with pigtails appeared and shook Lorelai's hand vigorously.

"Hi, you must be Lorelai. I'm so excited to meet you." Lorelai grinned.

"Oh hi, you must be our new chef. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

"I'm Sookie, could you do me a huge favor?" She said with a worried expression on her face.

"Of course."

"You see I'm so nervous, it being my first day, and I'm worried that this cake I made isn't quite right and that the boss won't like it and I'll get fired...and I'm rambling. Will you try some and tell me if its horrible?"

"Cake? You couldn't get me to not try some." Sookie handed her a sample. Lorelai thought it was the most fabulous thing she had ever tasted (except for coffee that is).

"Are you kidding?" She asked sarcastically. "That is amazing!"

"Really?"

"You make Emeril look English."

"Oooooh I'm so glad! Hey, do you want to go out for lunch?"

"Yeah, that would be awesome. Except I doubt we'll find any food better than yours around here."


	2. Meatballs and Malcontent

**Thanks so much for the reviews! This is my first fanfic and I was so excited to get feedback that I started dancing and promptly scared every living thing away within a mile radius. That said, your reviews were also very helpful. I made lots of changes to the first chapter, including spelling of names and the horoscope. And I also am going to try to add more insight into characters like JennaTripped suggested. Please bear with me, its a work in progress and I'm a little rusty. Jeesh, I'm long-winded. **

Lane Kim was a rebel at heart. She loved rock and roll (to the dismay of her over protective Korean mother) and was now starting to like boys (which was another subject Mrs. Kim frowned upon).

"I've never understood the difference between cute and hot. Explain it to me again?" Rory asked as she and Lane set down their lunch trays at their usual table. Lane rolled her eyes.

"Okay, listen closely. Cute is...Leonardo."

"Davinci?"

"You need to get a love life, Rory. No more Dickens for you." Rory laughed.

"I'll have to cut down. Continue."

"And hot is...Heath Ledger." She took a moment to put her hands on her heart and sigh. Rory blinked.

"I'm gonna die an old maid." Lane patted her on the shoulder comfortingly.

"It takes time." At that moment, a short skinny girl with long blonde hair marched over to where Rory and Lane were sitting and began to interrogate them. **(A/N: Oh, I know Paris meets Rory at Chilton but she's such a wonderful character that I just couldn't find it in my heart of hearts to exclude her! Please don't persecute me!)**

"Would you two deny the edibility of cafeteria food at Stars Hollow Elementary?"

"Hullo Paris."

"Edibility?"

"The meatballs bounce."

"Huh?" Rory asked incredulously.

"They bounce. The most horrific thing I ever saw. I was getting up to go to the bathroom, when I knocked my lunch tray over by accident. My meatball went _Boing, Boing, Boing, Splat_ right into the trash can." Rory and Lane looked at each other. Paris huffed and puffed.

"I've decided to take home-made lunches to school from now on. I suggest that you two do the same. I'm only telling you this because I think your lives are worth something."

"Uh, thanks Paris. We'll take that into advisement." Lane said. With that, Paris stormed off.

"Do you think she'll be scarred for life?"

"Most likely."

"Luke, what's up in the hood my homie? Dude, you always seem to attract the ladies, what's your secret?" Kirk enquired in a fluctuating voice. Luke stared at the desperate high school nerd in front of him. His hair was pushed off to the side **(A/N: In very likeness of Donald Trump : ) **and he had rolled up his pants in order to avoid puddles.

"If you've been around here for the last...oh, I don't know...7 years, you'd know there's no secret. And if I had a secret, which I obviously do not, I wouldn't tell you because it'd be a secret." Kirk looked skeptical.

"You can't fool me, bro. Lorelai comes here all the time. She's a bodacious babe." Lorelai's face flashed through Luke's mind.

"She comes here to buy coffee because she has a problem. And, don't talk like that."

"Like what, dawg? I'm down, yo." And as a second thought, he leaned back on the counter and folded his arms in front of him, blocking his pocket protector. _Poor kid_. Luke thought.

"Just don't Kirk. You're going to disturb people. Myself included." He looked extremely put-out. As Luke circled around the tables at his diner refilling water glasses, he settled into a surly mood. Yeah, he was a loner, but _why_ did everyone have to _constantly_ remind him of his bachelorhood? Stars Hollow, the town where _everybody_ butts in to _everybody_ else's business. He didn't want a relationship, Luke argued with himself. He gritted his teeth. Yeah, he did. He was just reluctant after Rachel. His pessimistic side debated, _There's no one you'd want to be in a relationship with right now anyway._ The more sensible side of Luke knew this wasn't true.

**Hope you liked it! Please review!**


	3. Laughing at Clouds

**I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I'm doing a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and its been hectic with rehearsals and the show coming up. A shout out to my fellow faerie friend, Pen, "Oh, Leo, our hearts _will _go on!!" **

"So, I'm gonna be a cliché of a mother and ask you how your day was." Lorelai put her key into the front door of their apartment.

"It was good. Mom, have I ever told you I despise math with every fiber of my being?" Lorelai grinned. They collapsed onto the tie-dye living room couch.

"It will help you in later life." Lorelai proclaimed, impersonating Rory's teacher.

"Yeah right. When?"

"When you all become math professors."

"Snort." Lorelai rested her head on her daughter's shoulder.

"Mom, you seem kind of tired. Are you okay?"

"Uh huh. Just need to catch my second wind."

"You're usually going on your fourth or fifth." Rory pointed out. Lorelai changed the subject.

"Looks like it might rain." She could see dark clouds through the window. As if on cue, droplets started to fall from the sky.

"Good call." They looked at each other grinning.

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Lorelai jumped up and was already sprinting towards the door.

"Yeah, well, the first one there gets to eat it!" Rory chased after her. It was warm out with a soft drizzle coming down, perfect for dancing in the rain.

"Careful down the stairs, Rory!" Lorelai called behind her.

"Oh yeah, you're one to talk." Rory laughed, watching her mom slide down the banister for the second time that day. Once they got to the street, they broke out in song.

"I'm singing in the rain! Da dee da dee da!" Lorelai twirled Rory.

"What a glo-r-ious feeling-I'm happy again!"

"Do you think we're getting to old for this?" Rory joked as they linked arms and Do-Si-Doed.

"You may be, but I'm sure not!" 10 minutes later, they entered their apartment smiling and soaking wet.

"First shower!"

"Go for it." Lorelai was too exhausted at the moment to do anything but lay spread-eagle on the floor.

"Wait, you sure?" Rory asked, not expecting to win that one so easily. "You can go if you want." Lorelai shook her head from her comfortable position on the carpet.

"How did _I_ raise such a nice kid? It's all yours." Rory laughed and disappeared around the corner, whistling a familiar tune. Lorelai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _This isn't working. _She thought. _I'm too tired._ She thought of Sookie, her new-found friend, and how much fun they had had at Al's Pancake House (the special of the day being Sloppy Joes). They had seen Michel there, convinced him to order a cheeseburger, and then laughed until they cried when they watched him try to eat it. His pinky was raised the entire time. Lorelai soon, lulled by the sound of pit-pattering on the roof, fell asleep.

_"That was really great." Lorelai stood in the warm night air outside her house. Her white floor length gown blew slightly in the wind. _

"_I mean, other than my mother attacking me with the mascara wand, it was perfect." Christopher nodded. _

"_Yeah, it was." Lorelai sighed and looked up at the vast mansion before them, which she had always been taught to call "home". It was truly the last place she wanted to be._

"_Lets go somewhere else." She took his hand to pull him away, but he stood where he was. She let go. _

"_What?"_

"_I don't think-"_

"_Don't think. Come on." She couldn't go in there. She didn't want to go through it again, not tonight at least. _

"_Lorelai-" He drew her in for a kiss. She reluctantly gave in. He put his hands on her neck and Lorelai felt her irritation ebbing away. At last, they parted._

"_I know. Its...okay." He said, looking into her eyes. Lorelai wrapped her arms around him._

"_I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked hesitantly._

"_Yeah, you will." _

_Ring. Ring. _

"I'll get it!" Lorelai woke with a start.

_Ring. Ring. _Rory rushed out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towl and grabbed the phone on the counter.

"Hola."

"Konichiwa."

"Bonjour."

"Aloha."

"Yikes, I'm running out..."

"We've forgotten one...oh yeah! Hello!" Lane teased. "Hey, you wanna sleepover tonight?" A huge smile spread across Rory's face.

"Yeah! One sec, I'll ask my mom. Mom?" It took a moment for Lorelai to adjust and shake the image of Christopher out of her mind. If getting less sleep was causing her to have such weird dreams, it wasn't worth it, she thought.

"Lets see, its Friday night. No school tomorrow. Whatever it is, yes."

"Lane?"

"That's my name. Don't wear it out."

"I'll bring popcorn."

"Hooray! And we'll provide the tofu snacks. Adios amiga."

"Ciao for now." Rory hung up. Lorelai got to her feet and started towards the bathroom.

"I'll take a super quick shower, you get dressed and have some dinner because as an overprotective parent, I cannot allow you to consume anything which does not contain calories of any kind. That being all food products at Lane's house."

"I'll respect your wishes. Thanks mom!" She ran to her room to get ready.

Lorelai dropped off Rory and started driving home. It had stopped raining and now the world was just a gray, blurry picture. She hadn't thought about Christopher in a long time. He had been pushed to the back of her mind, and Lorelai had forced him there. That dream alone was enough to rekindle all kinds of memories; ones she had promised to let go. In a daze, she parked the car and walked up the steps to her apartment. She set the alarm clock and settled into a nap on the couch. A few hours later, she made herself a cup of coffee, turned off the lights, and grabbed her purse.

"I go. I go. Look how I go!" She indignantly told the empty room. With that, she locked the door behind her.

**I just had to add that last line because its one of my favorites in the play:-). Please review! Next up, Lorelai finds herself in a horrible situation and we meet Emily and Richard for the first time...**


	4. Dilly Dilly

**This is my favorite chapter so far so I hope you enjoy!**

Lorelai threw on her black polo shirt with the "TGI Fridays" logo and hurried out of the bathroom. She checked in behind the counter and got to work. The restaurant was so crowded she could barely hear herself say, "Dinner for two?" over the noise of conversation. As she led a young couple over to a booth, Lorelai thought over her decision to quit that night. The graveyard shift might help her financial situation but it was jeopardizing her sanity. She couldn't be a good mom without having some energy left for the daytime. Plus, people were starting to notice and she knew her secret would get out sooner or later, especially with people like Ms. Patty on the lookout. She checked the clock. 10:35 and counting...

"How on earth did you manage to smuggle a PG rated movie in here?" Rory wanted to know. She was lying on the floor with her elbows propped up on a pillow. Lane, in hot pink pajamas, put the video into the VCR.

"I found it under my mom's bed. I think it's her one guilty pleasure." Julie Andrews appeared on the screen twirling in a field.

"She shall be condemned for sure." Rory commented. Lane sat criss-cross apple sauce style next to her. _Ding._

"Be back in a flash." Rory said, getting up. She walked into the kitchen and took the popcorn out of the microwave. When she turned around, she yelped and almost dropped the bowl. Mrs. Kim stood in front of her with a scowl.

"Rory Gilmore, you are a bad influence on my daughter." She said, her eyes like steel. Rory shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Kim, did we wake you up?" Rory asked timidly. Mrs. Kim leaned forward, sniffed once, and wrinkled her nose.

"Um...would you like some Mrs. Kim?" The Korean woman stared at Rory as if she had asked whether she'd like a taste of macaroni and steak sauce :-).

"No thank you. Goodnight." She went back upstairs to her room. Rory didn't know quite what to think. She resumed her place in front of the TV with Lane.

_"How do you solve a problem like Maria?" _

"Your mom's never gonna like me." Rory said sadly.

_"How do you find a word that means Maria?"_

_"A flibbertijibbet!"_

_"A will-o-the wisp!"_

_"A clown!"_

Lane gave her friend a quick hug.

"What do you suppose a flibbertijibbet is?" Lane joked, to get Rory's mind off Mrs. Kim. Rory laughed.

"I dunno. Possibly related to the will-o-the wisp."

Lorelai thrummed her fingers on the counter. Her eyes were starting to itch with tiredness.

"Lavender Blue dilly dilly Lavender Green..." She hummed to herself. The restaurant was starting to die down. At this hour, only the night owls came to eat, but more often to drink. There was a pair of particularly rowdy men at the bar tonight. Every 5 minutes or so, "JOHN JACOB JINGLE HEIMER SMITH na na na..." could be heard from the corner. Lorelai absently thought that the next lyrics of the annoying song, "His name is my name too!" proved you'd have to be _very_ drunk to take it seriously. At that moment, a loud group of high school football players walked in the door.

"They got SERVED!"

"Creamed..."

"Pul-ver-ized!" Lorelai waited as the boys clapped each other on the back and congratulated themselves on being masters of the universe. She had to grin.

"How many please?" She asked what looked like the coach.

"27. Uh wait, no 29." This night just gets better and better, Lorelai thought.

"Right this way." On her way back from getting drink orders (which was no mere task mind you), she heard the two men in the corner guffawing at something or other. They suddenly caught her eye. Leaning forward, one whistled while the other howled. Lorelai rolled her eyes. _Men._ She doubted if they would ever take the time to find new material. A simple hello would have been much more effective. Not that anything would be _that_ effective. She was going back to what she was doing when one of the two troublemakers got up from his seat and walked over to her.

"Heya sweatheart. Whatcha doing?" His stubbled chin wobbled. He had to be around 40. Lorelai could smell the liquor on his breath.

"Working." She said shortly. He turned back to his buddy and nodded smiling. He drew a little closer to Lorelai. Her mind raced.

"Get away from me." She warned him. She was going to quit that night anyway so it didn't matter if she somehow managed to punch a customer. The man made a big show of pretending he was offended.

"Aww I'm sorry doll. How bout we kiss and make up?" He didn't even see her left hook coming. He fell back from the blow. Blood trickled down his mouth. His eyes glinted with anger. Grabbing Lorelai's wrist, he pulled her close.

"_You-_" Lorelai's stomach plummeted.

"Hey, I can tell there's absolutely _nothing_ going on here so why don't you just lay off dude?" Lorelai's knight in shining sarcasm! The "dude" at the end was a nice touch, she thought. He was one of the jocks. The man gave Lorelai a look of utmost contempt and sauntered out of the restaurant with his friend trailing after him, bumping into walls every now and then.

"I am eternally grateful." Lorelai told her rescuer. He was clad in full uniform and she had to admit he was a major stud.

"To make it up to me, how would you like to go-"

"Single parent." Lorelai interrupted. She was used to this by now. The guy faltered.

"Forget that. Have a nice evening." He went back to his group. _Hoho,_ _not so charming after all._ She checked the clock. He shouldn't said, "Have a nice morning". Lorelai could barely keep her eyes open. Her shift was over soon, thankfully.

"Are you asleep?" Lane murmured into her pillow. They were trying to pull an all-nighter.

"No." Rory's muffled voice came from under a blanket.

"So who do you like?" Lane asked. Rory groaned.

"No one.", she told her, for what seemed the trillionth time. Rory was not so open about her feelings as Lane.

"Oh, come on! There has to be someone!"

"Nope."

"How about Josh?"

"No way!"

"Cameron?"

"Yuck!"

"What's his first initial?"

"Zero."

"Is it Patrick?"

"Do we have to do this?"

"John?" Rory paused. Her heart skipped a beat. John was this really nice boy in her 3rd grade class. He had dusty blonde hair and eyes a deep sea green...

"So do you like the guy or not?"

"Uh...no, of course not." Lane's face lit up in complete triumph. Rory couldn't help but laugh. The two girls, after managing to complete half of their expedition, soon fell fast asleep.

It hadn't been as hard as Lorelai thought it would be. She had asked her boss if he needed her two-week notice and he said not to bother. And that was it. She could go home now and not have to worry about leaving Rory alone at night or what would happen if people found out. They'd probably think Lorelai was an incompetant parent. She was just trying to...ah, it didn't matter now anyway. She grabbed her purse, checked out, and walked through the back door to the parking lot. She gasped. _No no no no,_ she thought frantically. Her car was gone. She almost broke down right there but managed to hold herself together.

"Ohhhhmm. Ohhmmm. Umm this isn't helping!" She said aloud to herself, panicking. The rest of the employees had already left. She reached into her purse for her cell. Then she stopped. Who was she going to call? No one from Stars Hollow, she knew that. When she realized her only option, she groaned.

"Splendid, just splendid." She muttered to herself bitterly as she dialed the number. _Ring. Ring. Please_ pick up._ Ring._

"Hello?" Emily's irritated voice came through the speaker, sending chills down Lorelai's back. She took a deep breath.

"Mom, its me."

"Lorelai? What are you doing calling at this hour? Wait-whats the matter? Is Rory alright? Is-"

"Rory's fine, mom. My car was stolen." Lorelai could hear her mother telling Richard to wake up.

"Where are you? And what-nevermind. We'll talk about this later. You owe us an explanation." Emily barked. Lorelai blinked up at the stars, trying to hold back tears. So much for selfless love...

**I lied. We'll meet Emily and Richard in the next chapter. Sorry bout that.:-) Please review! Reviews motivate me to write and I love hearing from ya'll!**


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